Browsed byCategory: Inspiration

For about 3 months this year, I did not publish. Although, in all fairness, I was writing (scribbling thoughts down), I did not finish any piece. Before now, I worked a more flexible job and I lived in an environment that allowed me more privacy and time to myself and thoughts but my reality changed in January and with the blessings of this new reality came the challenge of “getting into the zone” (writers will relate). While I conveniently threw blames, gave excuses and wished, nothing changed until eventually, after months of waiting unproductively, I took responsibility for the results I need to deliver by creating the environment I need within the environment I have. And, it’s working.

Sista, anything can work if you work it.

Too many times we are stagnated in life not because we don’t have dreams or the ability and desire to make those dreams happen but because we are waiting for the perfect weather.We allow unfavorable circumstances to incapacitate us and we sit back blaming everyone but ourselves and making excuses for nonperformance with the hope that one day, the galaxies will align and we’ll finally have all the time and resources we think we need to do what we need to do. The truth, however, is that life will not always present to us the realities we want or deserve. But if we’ll dare to objectively reexamine our current realities with a different attitude and from a different perspective, we will discover that what we have is good material to work with. We have the ability to create preferred realities using our current realities as the raw material.If you approach your reality with the “I can work this” attitude and you see the challenge as an opportunity to create, you can make anything- unemployment, disability, financial difficulty, a breakup, loss, pressure- work.Besides, there’s no situation that is entirely unique to anyone. Someone somewhere has made a worse situation work!

However, note that somethings can be changed! Nevertheless, some things can only be worked. You cannot change the taste of lemon juice, but if lemon juice is all you’ve got, you can make it work by adding some sugar. It’s up to you!No matter how hard you complain about “not having enough time” you really cannot have more than 24 hours in a day. So you can either maximize the time you have by task prioritization and proper planning or stay stuck in complains. Whatever it is, stop waiting for better. Take responsibility and create it.Working your reality means working with your reality.

Sometimes God deprives us of certain luxuries only so that our eyes can be open to see opportunities in strange places. It is amazing how extreme pressure juices out the best we never knew existed within us. How shame, struggles and pain reveal the strength we never knew we had. How our desperation for a breakthrough leads us to making unprecedented discoveries.How in our quest for solutions we become solutions.

You can live the life you want within the life you have but it won’t happen without your effort. So, stop waiting to “get into your zone”. Roll up your sleeves and work your reality!

The best deeds are the ones carried out, not just with the most generous acts but with the purest intentions. It pays to come to terms with the motives behind our actions, service and desires. Many times we may find that our motives are laced with self and ambition and not genuinely driven by love.

On the last day, when our works are brought before the Lord, the works that will stand; tried and tested are the ones that have been done in love.

As at today, there are organizations, initiatives and even businesses springing up as the days go by, one question that often comes to mind is – whether the motive behind such organizations isright, because so many people do the right things with the wrong motive all in the name of “creating impact” or “meeting a need”, even when the goals and profit from the organizations, businesses are achieved,true satisfaction comes from having the right heart towards the cause with no hidden agenda for fame or money, with no ulterior motive for seeking validation and recognition.

The right heart is propelled by love, driven by kindness and directed by God. Being at the center of God’s will is only the beginning of having the right heart, it takes carrying out every instruction as His will unfolds with the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:6-8) who made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a SERVANT, and was made in the likeness of men.

We are actually servants called to the noble cause to serve our generation and in whatever way that service comes, we need to totally and humbly let our hearts be under the scrutiny of the Holy spirit all the way, as we take the posture of submission and constant consecration.

I subscribed to the Beautified blog and took my time to read through the different segments, it wasn’t long before I started “hmmm-ing” and nodding to the rhema revealed in the topics shared.
The topic that really struck a cord in my being was the one Funto shared on “Who Are You?”
I could relate in so many ways.

This time last year, my life was taking a downward spiral course, it seemed like everything was going under. All the things I had that seemed to give me a sense of identity and worth were falling apart one by one.

I was working in a bank, I had a fat salary, I had a car, I was engaged and soon to be married; life was grand.

All of a sudden, things changed.

There was an issue with someone in another branch (story for another day, lol) but it affected me, so I was relieved of my job.
The engagement fell apart few months to the agreed wedding date. I also lost some money and my car. It was as though my life could not get any worse.

Little did I know that these were God’s way of saving me from disaster.

Before that period, I wasn’t walking closely with God, I had let go of His hand, telling Him I could take care of myself. I had made decisions and compromises at the expense of my walk with God. I was in a relationship that i had no business being in as a Christian, wallowing in self-deceit under the guise of “nobody is perfect, you can always work it out “. Exerting much energy without getting any positive result, swimming against a tide that clearly wanted to go in another direction.

It wasn’t until I realised how far from God I had wandered and I retraced my steps back to Him that He saved me and opened my eyes to all the signs He showed me in dreams and reality but I refused to see or listen.

I was carried away with a deceptive container with the wrong content and had depended on the things i had to define me. I wasn’t a Banker anymore, I wasn’t someone’s fiancee. I wasn’t a car owner. I didn’t have money. All my security fell through. Then I asked myself, “so now, who am I?”

I thank God for His love and grace, that pulled me back, restored me and opened my eyes to who I am.

Revelations 5:10 And hast made us unto God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

I am made by Divine design. I have been made with gifts and traits and a genetic combination that no one else has. No one in all ages of the world has ever been me. And no one will.

God created me in His own image and gave me the ability to reign on earth. It doesn’t matter the circumstances surrounding you at any given time, always see yourself as God sees you.
Celebrate the fact that God had made each tiny part of you unique, special, one-of-a-kind.
Discover the wonder of a woman God created you to be. Enjoy the little things that make you special. What a rare and precious treasure you are to God. You can give the world some things that no one else can in the same way.

The perception of who I am is crucial to my walk with God. As a royal priesthood, I am an embodiment of Beauty, Power and Royalty. I am an epitome of God’s glory. I am created in the very image and likeness of God. All things created, visible and invisible are under my feet.

The nature of royalty as given to me by God must reflect in my appearance and discussion. Thank God for the awesome creative work He has done as He made me who I am!

Meditate:1 Peter 2:9-10

The truth is, no matter how far those pretty feet have wandered, the Father is always ready with open arms to take you back. It’s not too late Princess, return and be restored.

The result of intentional living is deliberate memories. One lesson I have come to learn from one of the newest facebook features that shares memories as far back as 5 years ago, is that eventful days become memories shared. It hit me late last year when I realized I had unconsciously become weary of social media so I withdrew from updates, comments, likes and follows.

I realized that the notifications I got for memories to share came up only because I had put updates and the more remarkable the memory was, the more eager I was to share it.

Flipping this to apply to everyday life experiences, it is clear that the stories we have to share tomorrow as events of the past are only enriched by how much enthusiasm, love, fun, spontaneity, joy and vigour we add to them. You know how you deliberately strike a pose for a picture because that’s exactly what you’d want to see in your picture, that’s how you create beautiful memories.

Be sure to laugh, live in the fullness of each day, give, surround yourself with those who bring put the best in you, go out, reflect, enjoy your own company, discover God’s purpose for your life, live in the fullness of God’s purpose for your life, celebrate yourself, celebrate others, learn something new, be involved in politics, use your favorite lipstick, meet people, take pictures in weird places with weird people (aka friends),maximize social media, bake…. create beautiful memories.

We made it!!!I know we’re two weeks into the year already but it’s my first piece here in 2017 so Happy New Year!

As we look forward to better experiences this year, I counsel you to do all that you can to protect the deposits of God within you. Believe it or not, 2017 is pregnant and so are you! This year has so much potential to deliver great opportunities to birth and serve the promises, visions, and dreams you are pregnant with. But while you wait for the appointed time to deliver, you must protect your conception!

Every conception needs a gestation period to mature and be ready for birth. This period is most critical because any form of carelessness can lead to a deformation or miscarriage. Too many times we “miscarry” God’s promises for our lives, our visions and dreams because we unduly expose them to harsh and negative influences while they’re still fragile and in the making. Not so this year! You’re going to be jealous over that pregnancy and step up the security around you by guarding your gates.

It’s important that you become very conscious about, and selective and intentional with what gets into you through your gates- your ears and your eyes. You need to be careful about those “conversations”, “advices”, “entertainment, “education” etc that come subtly to destroy those deposits.

There are probably projects that you didn’t execute last year because you were busy soaking up negative energy from the negative news in the media or perhaps someone told you (however nicely) that “You can’t do it”. Or maybe there were risks pregnant with opportunities that you didn’t take because you were dutifully observing the times and analyzing the seasons. Or you probably didn’t ascend certain spiritual heights because someone said “It’s not a big deal” or you were simply choked by the force of worldliness through exposure to unwholesome entertainment, literature and relationships. Well, it’s going to be very different this year because we’re mounting heavy checkpoints at the gates. Let God’s word “stop and search” everything that comes around and if they don’t fit His description, turn them back.

Safe guarding those promises, visions and dreams for this year is your responsibility. Take is personal! Know that whatever has your eyes and ears determines the course of your life. So, if you see it and hear it long enough, you start think it. And if you think it long enough, you become it.

To get the kind of results you need this year, there are songs you cannot listen to, movies you cannot watch, information you cannot pay attention to, and companies you cannot keep. Make sure you only allow and pay attention to influences born of God.

Enjoy God always and Thrive!

DeborahAdeojo

Writer, Speaker, Worship leader, Feminist and Communications professional in a romantic relationship with Jesus.

It’s the beginning of a new year and to an extent all the frenzy and celebration has faded away. However, in the midst of all the reflections and introspection, it might also help to ask: “what’s holding me back?”

As I asked myself this question over and over, the answer was a major wake up call. Some reasons we give for not going all out to achieve our goals could be validating from being caught up in a downturn economic situation,to having to meet so many deadlines or maybe even having unforeseen happenings interrupt outlined goals .

Some others reasons could be not so validating like believing in your weakness or giving in to self-limiting doubts to dwelling on your mistakes, thinking that your challenges are unique, feeling that the world owes you, to resisting change or maybe fear of uncertainty of what the future holds or just being downright lazy, all these reasons, no matter how validating they might appear or not, exist because we’ve given room for reasons in the first place.

No external factor could ever be bigger than what I call“the enemy within”. It might not surprise you to know that youare your biggest opposition, clearly displayed in the choice made to limit yourself by external circumstancesand limit your optionsto going only as far as youallow yourself.

Don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t achieve all the goals you set to achieve last year. Your best deal is forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. And don’t take pride in scoring yourself a hundred percent, your best deal as well is forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.

Could it be that you didn’t give your all in seeing your goals through because it wasn’t even God-centered in the first place? What inspires your goals? – Self aspiration or God’s inspiration?

Okay, maybe you start out by making plans that are in line with what God would have you do, but you still didn’t get it all done, would ‘the enemy within’ still surface here? Well, yes because it takes more than writing down spirit inspired goals and visions to realize an agenda.

Amazing things happen when we get ourselves out of the way and make total commitment to what we desire to achieve, no matter what.

In this new year, let God be the influence of your desires and as you find strength and zest to make deliberate approach to actualisingyour goals, make a commitment to stay true to your goals, making no room for excuses and giving in all that is required to see it through to the end.

In a few days, we’ll be starting out on a new journey into a new year and as we look forward with renewed hopes and high spirits, it is time to unpack and repack.

Like life itself, the New Year is a marathon race or a long distance journey set before us with its many stops and typically, we engage it carrying luggage. Though naturally, we would all approach the New Year with defined hopes, plans, strategies and a winning attitude, we really aren’t ever sure of the curves, hurdles, hills and slopes that line our paths. We simply cannot determine what lies ahead. Nevertheless, our primary concerns should be to run the race set before us with all the endurance required, to travel this new path carrying only the needed stuff in our bags and to arrive at our finish lines (our many stops)in record time. So, what is in your bag?

Too many times we embark on life’s many journeys carrying way more luggage than we need that we eventually begin to crumble under the weight of self-inflicted burdens. We can’t repeat this mistake in the New Year.The only way to go faster, easier, cheaper and happier is to go lighter.Therefore, not everyone we know, everything we own or have been through is necessary for this next phase of our journeys. We must at this junction separate the essentials from the little “luxuries” that will eventually metamorphose into burdens. But then, the truth is that we simply cannot have an idea of what our journey’s “essentials” are unless we have some measure of understanding of what our life’s assignment and destination is since these variables determine the“essentials”. So, where are you called to do and where are you going?

As this year closes, you must be pertinent about discovering who you are, what you are called to do, where you are headed in life and understand what season of your life you are stepping into. You may not know all that is in store for you in 2017, but be sure about your life assignment and then travel intentionally with the right stuff in your bag. Generally, ideologies that are not in line with biblical perspectives, values that negate or are indifferent to your purpose, memories and experiences that pollute your stream of happiness and sense of worth, habits and character traits that reduce your opportunities, negative emotions that leave you with a waste of regrets, and unhealthy relationships that slow you down are some of the things you must unpack from your luggage and leave behind in 2016 as you advance into the new year and through life. Remember that life will tax you for every excess you bring on board, so lighten your luggage here and now.

In the end, all you really need is a knapsack carrying faith, good memories, significant life lessons, an improving character, a curious and expanding intellect, healthy relationships and a progressive revelation of God. Everything else may just be luxuries waiting to metamorphose into burdens.

So, if does your race no good, discard it. In fact, if it does your journey “nothing”, let it go. You will need the extra space for new, better and rewarding additions. So, unpack and repack your bag, lighten your luggage, and shake off the burdens now.

Written By

Deborah Adeojo

Writer, Speaker, Worship leader, Feminist and Communications professional in a romantic relationship with Jesus.

I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there, at one point of our lives or the other, where it seems like everyone is against us. I remember growing up as the last of three children, I often felt like “no one understood me” especially when it seems I was the only one on my own side of the ‘team’ (as though life was a game)and I never stood a chance against my ‘opponents’ who always had strong scores to put up against my wimpy tantrums.

Lucky for me, I know better now. I’ve been able to draw the line between noteworthy corrections and disposable criticism.

Our attitude to correction shows how open we are to change, so many times we feel we are actually doing things right, until the lens through which we see gets slightly adjusted by another with a better perspective. It is not always about being right or wrong,the thing is- as purpose driven women, let’s learn to put our guards down and pick up corrections that are sure to guarantee that we stay relevant where God has prepared for us.

Yes; the form and manner in which corrections come could be harsh or maybe offensive, there’s no nice way to package the truth, it always stings. And yes; it so happens at times that there’s this one thing in you that ‘everyone’ points out as a major flaw. Deal with it. Stop thinking the whole universe is against you or that nobody likes you. Although,it is acknowledged thatthere are fault finders, people who always seem to rain on your parade, which makes it all the more important that we learn to weigh out the harsh truth from the spiteful words.

Are you committed to a lifelong journey of relevance?

Do you really want to keep that hashtag Queenin’ beyond the display? – be sure to stay teachable and open to correction.

Our entire existence has been closely knit and intertwined to survive on interdependence. The synergy created in human relationships has proven to be one of the greatest forces ever. It is said that. ..”if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far go with others”

I like to believe that for you to move on a progressive direction on a destined path in life, with precision and steered drive, go with those on the same journey.

Even the basic unit that lays the foundation of the greater community for mankind culled out as the sacred union of marriage:shows that the core elements that signify our root came about through a coexistence and mutual interaction.

We have to be open to deliberately drawing fortitude and leveraging on the strength of diversity. We have so much inherent in us as individuals, a convergence of our abilities has tremendous potentials, waiting patiently to be unleashed, the more we repel in reluctance to maximizing relationships, the more we reduce our sphere of influence and tendency to bring about effective and productive results.

God puts people in our way to help us attain all He purposes for us. Your next level is tied to a key relationship, the people around us as family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, pastors, mentors, have been put in place strategically for us; to help us, to add our life journey and success story. Friendships have been put in place by God as one of the beauty in our lives to add some colour to our daily living and beyond that to create synergy as we walk in our path to fulfill purpose.

The ability to see through the eyes of God in these relationships is the ability to concentrate on the strengths of those God has placed in our lives. It is of great disadvantage to us when we do not rightly perceive relationships, knowing the ones to nurture and the ones to keep at a distance, it is also more unfortunate when we readily make out the flaws of others and are quick to block them out. One way to maximize relationships is to make allowance for people’s mistakes and weaknesses (Colossians 3:13). So many destiny relationships have been broken because someone took offence at the show of a weakness of another.

Be discerning enough to know when you might be giving room for strife to cause a permanent disintegration of a relationship and when it is important to simply draw the line.Relationships are seeds that germinate into trees of opportunities. It is however important that we learn to leverage on people with using them, always ask yourself; what influence is this person bringing into my life as much as what value am I adding to this relationship?

Above all honour people, do not speak Ill of people, no matter how they’ve hurt you, never think of yourself highly than others, be meek enough to learn, be vulnerable to those assigned to help you and be open to those God has called you to help.

Everything rises and falls on relationships and how far you go in life is directly proportional to how well you maximize key relationships.

The power of gratitude is the principle that applies to the law of focus.

Gratitude shifts our gaze away from the things that are wrong to all the things going on well. So many times it’s not the challenges that weigh us down, it is usually our inability to realise that what you focus on amplifies, same way, it is not about the “load” it is about how you carry it, so we worry and fret over unpleasant situations in our lives and what we get inevitably or what we see repeatedly is more of the situation. Little wonder the bible records in 1Thessalonisns 5:18 to give thanks ALWAYS. The emphasis being laid on the ALWAYS

The toughest thing ever might be to get all joyful and full of gratitude when you just lost your job, or you have a pressing need or your property got missing, or that relationship just ended or you have no money, you know and every other mishap or circumstance that you can think of but giving thanks is the will of God for us. In giving thanks, your awareness shifts from the situation to the solution, all of a sudden you are stirred to understand that your life is not determined by what goes on around you because we do not live by sight.

Thanksgiving has been one of my major sources of strength, because there is no way you can genuinely give thanks to God and not stir up joy, and you know what the Bible says about joy –the joy of the Lord is our strength and the strength that emanates from joy is a major determinant of the outcome of the battles we face in life, because if you fall in the days of adversity your strength (joy) is little.Refuse to be overwhelmed by tough times and confront it with thanks giving, if it so happens that there are seemingly more things going on wrong than right make a list of things that you can be grateful for no matter how small and as you focus on consciously desiring to give thanks, more things come to mind that you ought to be grateful for.

Have you ever observed that when you are sad, depressed, worried and anxious, it is usually because you have yourself in view. Being sad is one way to be “self” conscious you take yourself all so importantly but changing the narrative is seeing God, and realising that He is bigger than our problems.

Nothing is more admirable than a woman who stays radiantly aglow with joy and thanksgiving, she stays pumped up, motivated and inspired and above all she is full of strength.